RadioShack Parent Could Go Bankrupt

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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RadioShack Parent Could Go Bankrupt

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Most people think RadioShack disappeared long ago. Started in 1921, it had 8,000 stores in the late 1990s that sold gadgets and electronics components for the most part, but then it was overwhelmed by such competitors as Best Buy and Amazon. Ownership of its assets passed through many hands after it went bankrupt in 2015. These landed with Retail Commerce Ventures in 2020. Now, that company may go bankrupt. If there is a liquidation, RadioShack could do another disappearing act. (Click here for the 25 brands customers are abandoning.)
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Retail Commercial Ventures also owns the troubled Pier 1 Imports. According to the New York Post, “A flashy firm that has scooped up a slew of bankrupt retail brands including RadioShack, Pier 1 Imports and Modell’s Sporting Goods, is now in danger of filing for bankruptcy itself.”
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The New York Post wrote that Retail Commercial Ventures posted $60 million in losses last year. According to the same source, it has $200 million in debt. The Wall Street Journal also weighed in on the story. It reported the company has hired restructuring lawyers.
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The RadioShack story is not unique. It extends to iconic brands like JCPenney, Sears, Kmart and dozens of smaller retailers. This year could be a brutal one for the industry. Major retailers like Walmart and Home Depot have warned that slowing consumer spending will challenge their revenue.
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It is too soon to say if RadioShack can have another life. Since it exists almost exclusively online, its assets could be transferred to another owner. But no one outside its parent knows if RadioShack’s revenue is racing toward zero.

RadioShack made it to its 100th birthday. It may not get any older.

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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